Fate Innocence
by Kash InTime
Summary: War between the Mage's Association and the Holy Church has left the world shaken. As it escalates, Nathan must face his old teacher who had used him to gain power. With the resolve to destroy his former master, Nathan will chase him all over the world. Will he succeed or be cut down amidst the numerous dead?
1. Chapter 1

Fate/Innocence

Chapter 1

War. inconceivable before it happened and when it did no one wanted to believe it. The Mage's Association and the Holy Church began open warfare across the world. It was unknown how it started but now the two sides were at each other's throats it seemed.

Nathan, A mercenary, reviewed the contract again. A key individual of the church was located in a church in Germany. It was normally fortified since the war started, but the Mage's Association was preparing a major offensive against it. Nathan already had a grudge of sorts against the man and taking the man's head would fetch a fair price, thus why he found himself outside said church. Nathan continued through a side door while the sound of spells and swords clashed around him.

This door led him through a hallway into the chapel area, so much for avoiding the front door. A young woman in church robes walked up to him.

"Executor, how fares the battle?" she asked. Nathan had almost forgotten he was wearing his Executor mantle.

"There has been a new development, I need to speak to the head priest." This was of course a lie, but Nathan wanted to do this quietly.

"No, there isn't anything new." The two turned to the pulpit. The Executor who just spoke removed his hood. "You are an assassin and a traitor." They must've known he was coming somehow. The young woman ran from him as more Executors emerged around him.

"Guess I have no choice." Nathan activated his black keys. With a spinning jump into the air, he tossed his weapons at his opponents while avoiding theirs. Only some of the blades defeated his enemies while the others were blocked. As he came to the ground he drew more of his keys while the remaining combatants began to move to avoid being an easy target.

On landing he threw the blades again. Those unlucky enough to be hit or get glanced by these were immediately engulfed in flames. Nathan smiled as his rune training seemed to have paid off.

He moved quickly to avoid blades as they were thrown at him. Most of them were novices when it came to using their weapons so avoiding getting hit was quite easy. He flung a new blade into an executor as he tried to charge him. The executor fell from black key that had pierced his skull and Nathan then hugged the left wall.

Nathan pulled his FN Five-seveN from its holster while his other hand prepared more black keys. He turned to deflect a blade from behind him but not before noticing one of the remaining 3 executors attempt to charge him again. After deflecting the incoming sword, Nathan turned and unloaded 3 rounds quickly into the charging executor. The man didn't expect a modern firearm and thus fell dead to the ground from the shots.

After shooting the man who had charged him, Nathan moved to the center of the room and flung 4 keys toward one of the executors as he leaped over their keys. This one blocked the first 2 blades easy but the spinning blades of the other two would find their mark. He readied 4 more keys and faced the remaining executor.

The two stood there watching each other. They were trying to anticipate the next move of their opponent which told Nathan that this man was experienced in combat. To their surprise the church shook from some sort of massive impact.

Nathan hadn't looked away from his challenger, but the impact was too strange to ignore. The Association hadn't deployed anything powerful enough to cause such an impact and the church was in the same boat. He raised his handgun.

He fired 3 rounds before flinging his keys. The man deflected the bullets before tossing his keys to intercept that which was thrown at him. Nathan took this chance to charge his opponent. With new keys in hand he thrusted at the man, however the man used martial arts and thus forced him to discard his blades. The two then engaged in a melee of martial arts, both being skilled to the point where neither seemed to be winning.

The man suddenly made an unexpected grab for Nathan's throat who tried to block it. Nathan however was just barely too slow and was grappled against the wall behind the pulpit. Now choking Nathan did his best to avoid passing out. The executor placed the tip of his black keys against Nathan's stomach.

"Any last words before the lord?" the man said.

"What do you know of God?" Nathan managed to say. "Most gods are dicks. you serve a being you know nothing about."

"We know more than you,"

"I doubt it," Nathan spat back, "if you did you would follow his teachings more. Actually read the book you proclaim to be his gospel."

"Give him my regards then," Man tensed up ready to impale Nathan.

"Do what you will," the man hesitated as Nathan spoke, "but the innocents you destroy will stack up. Can you call yourself Clean?!" he would've felt the tingling on the back of his hand but was too busy choking to notice. However he did notice something happen in the middle of the room.

A bright light flashed from the center of the room and the man looked to see what it was. The man had no time to react to what he saw much less realize what had happened. Nathan was released as the man's head was separated from his shoulders in a quick clean cut from a scythe like weapon.

After coughing for what seemed like ages, Nathan looked up from where he was on the ground to see that he had been saved by a young girl with purple hair put into a long braid. She wore a hooded cloak and wielded the scythe like object that had just decapitated the last executor. She was looking toward the door as if waiting for something to barge through it.

"Are you my master?" she asked in a beautiful voice, giving Nathan the impression that she was part Siren or something.

"The Holy Grail war," Nathan began putting the pieces together. "The Mage's Association must have weaponized it somehow." Nathan got up.

"An accurate guess yes," the girl continued watching the door.

"I guess I'll have to accept you as my servant then. You may call me Nathan." he began heading toward the nearby door that would lead farther into the building.

"How did you summon me master?" she asked. Nathan stopped at the door.

"You mean the catalyst?"

"Yes, I'm not supposed to be summonable at all yet here I am. Only a specific catalyst could do so." the girl finally turned to him. She was a beautiful girl beyond any that Nathan had seen. This made him feel awkward as she looked like she was 10 years old. Despite this there was something about her eyes that Nathan couldn't quite place.

"I'm not…" he was interrupted by the servant.

"Oh," she spotted a vase with flowers in it sitting on the pulpit. "These flowers, me and my sisters used to pick these all the time." Nathan detected a hint of sadness in her voice.

"So you're a Lancer class servant?" He said trying to change the subject.

"Yes," she was holding the flowers and staring at them. He noticed a single tear slide down her cheek.

"Do you need a minute Lancer?"

"No, master, sorry," she wiped her face with the back of her gloved hands. She placed the flowers back.

"I'm sure you've noticed but this is going to be a warzone pretty quick." Nathan opened the door in front of him and the two continued into the church.

"What is your objective here?"

"The assassination of my former teacher." Nathan replied.

"You are unallied aren't you?" Despite her size she kept pace with him pretty well.

"You could say that. His name is Gabriel Orthan." the two entered a small empty courtyard and continued along surprised at the lack of opposition they faced.

"He wronged you in some way didn't he?"

"That's a good summary, yes."

"I see."

"Is there a name I can call you other than your class name?" the two entered another door that led into another room as he spoke.

"You can call me…. Ana," she said.

"Thank you, Ana." Nathan knew this had nothing to do with her actual name. The two continued through several more doors until they found stairs that led down under the church.

"Most of these churches have an underground cathedral for some reason." Nathan said as he started down the steps.

"Why,"

"Most likely to practice their form of magecraft." As he thought the stairs led into a larger room designed like a grand cathedral. As the two approached the pulpit, Nathan could make out the figure of an old church high priest with white hair, the man whom he wanted dead.

"Do you wish for me to kill him?" Ana asked as she readied her weapon. They were in range for Nathan to throw a black key now too, but Nathan sighed.

"No point this is an Illusion." Nathan pulled back his hood revealing his short black spiky hair as the Illusion of Gabriel turned toward him.

"Quite right Nathan Sanctuary," the man smiled. "I was expecting to catch most of the Association's forces in this trap, but you beat them to the punch."

"You should have left me out in the desert," Nathan said.

"Maybe, but you have proven that my teachings were effective. Who knew teaching an outsider the ways of an executor would be so effective in securing my ascent." Nathan was enraged but he knew there was no point in reacting out of anger.

"We will find you." Ana tried to sound threatening. Gabriel turned to her.

"Ah yes the servant. We of the church suspected the enemy to deploy the grail system, so we made a change to it so that anyone on either side could use it." Ana grimaced. "I guess it is time for me to summon my own then. Please enjoy the death we have prepared for you." the Illusion then faded.

"How did you know it was an Illusion?" Ana asked.

"It didn't have a shadow when it should have." he looked up at the ceiling of the room. As he suspected the roof had explosives strapped to it. They meant to demolish the entire place on top of their enemy.

"Ana run!" As he spoke he heard an explosive detonate. He didn't look dare look instead giving all his energy to get the fuck out. Dust and debri started falling around them as they ran and Nathan could vaguely hear more explosives going off.

"Es ist gross," he started up a spell to strengthen his legs. He spotted Ana a little bit ahead of him, "Es ist Klein, Vox Gott es Atlas!" his legs immediately felt the much needed boost of his strengthening magic. He reached Ana in less than a second and swooped her into his arms before darting into the stairway.

In a single bound he jumped half of the stairs, the few footsteps he took were marked by small craters. At the top of the steps, he charged shoulder first through a door that led outside. He stopped once he reached the nearby treeline that stood a good 50 yards from the building.

He let Ana down and turned to the church while bending over for air.. It hadn't quite collapsed yet but Nathan knew it wouldn't be long.

"Master… thank you," the girl strangely enough wasn't mad at him.

"It was no problem," Nathan said exhausted. He watched as the last explosion went off and the building fell leaving no evidence of what had just transpired there.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"The safe house is up ahead," Nathan said pointing through the trees. "Less than a kilometer." The two were hiking through the woods now. The darkness around them and the events that had transpired earlier that night gave the forest a real creepy feeling to them. Ana was unphased by this however, almost as if she had dealt with this sort of feeling before.

"Good." she said. Nathan wanted to ask about her personal life, but he was exhausted and, to top it all off, he may have used a little too much mana. He almost tripped on a rock from said exhaustion.

"Master?" Ana moved to catch him but stopped as he caught himself.

"Sorry Ana," he said. "I'm just low on mana." they continued walking and Nathan focused on not falling over again.

"So," she said looking around, "how did the war start?"

"The one between the Association and the Holy church?"

"Yes."

"The grail didn't tell you?"

"I want a non-biased opinion." she smirked. "Kind of stupid if you ignore both sides of a story." She seemed to imply that she was talking about both her view as well as how she wished people would view her despite the fact that Nathan still didn't know her true name.

"A story can have multiple sides. Most people don't know how it started but what escalated it was the church revealing magecraft to the world. It quickly became a battle of propaganda as both sides wanted allies for the war to come."

"Why involve outsiders?"

"Numbers, to put it simply. Even weak forces in mass numbers can be overwhelming"

"Sorry, I was never any sort of military leader or anything close to it." Ana turned away from him.

"Who were you?" he mustered the courage to ask.

"It would be unwise to say my true name here." she said.

"Right. Maybe in the morning I'll ask you." he smiled at her.

"Ok." She was probably nervous about it as she kept trying to hide her face.

"Back to the topic at hand, I never thought I would see the Association gather its Great three branches together.

"So the branches are more unified now?"

"More than before at least. They're still working on their chain of command but they at least have their head brass figured out.

"And you work for the Association?"

"Officially yes, Actually no."

"Fun."

"I still have to pay bills you know," he shrugged and almost stumbled again.

"Master focus on walking please."

"Sorry," he said. "I also wanted to ask what the grail said the main goal was?"

"What do you mean?" She looked slightly confused.

"Usually the grail tells the servants to fight to claim their wish or something similar. Since the grail has been weaponized I wanted to know what it told you?"

"It didn't tell me anything along that nature. All I got was to protect my master at all costs."

"Strange," he rubbed his chin in thought. He didn't know what it meant but he also didn't like what it could theoretically insinuate.

"Master we're here." Ana said and Nathan looked up to see the dark cabin ahead of them. They silently crept up to the building and began circling it to make sure it was empty. Once Nathan was sure no one was occupying it they entered.

Nathan took a rune stone from one of his pouches and slapped it on the wall next to the door. He turned to a nearby bedroom and headed toward it. He no longer could tell if he said anything to Ana as his exhaustion and lack of mana was all he could feel right now. He fell face first onto the bed still dressed in all his gear and passed out almost immediately.

* * *

Nightmares are awful. Nathan was now on the floor after falling off the bed from rolling around too much. He sat up as he recalled what he could from his dream. The dream had a constant feeling of horror to it while playing the images in a weird collage. Some were definitely from his past as it showed images of his actions killing what he would later learn were people defending innocents or innocents themselves.

The worst part of the dream was his grenade toss into a window of a mansion followed by him busting down the door only to find the remains of several non-combatants that had taken cover in the room. Nathan shivered as their faces ran through his mind.

"It's ok," he told himself, "I was told to grenade the room, the head Executor had ordered me too." he told himself this to help calm himself down and for the most part it's true. The family was suspected to hold a Dead Apostle among them, at least that was the agreed consensus. Once his heart rate dropped back to normal he got up on shaky legs.

He started to the kitchen as his mind had remembered a part of his dream that he knew wasn't his. He saw the smiling faces of two young girls whom he did not recognize standing with their backs to the sea. That image would be replaced by countless snakes smashing and snapping at them mercilessly in what appeared to be a dark room.

As he entered the main part of the cabin he spotted Ana asleep on the couch. She must have decided to sleep to let him recover his mana faster, but he wondered why she didn't just use her spirit form.

He headed to the fridge in the kitchen which was simply a fridge, a sink, and stove top oven. He looked through the fridge and decided to drink the apple juice. he grabbed it and a glass from a nearby cabinet. After pouring a glass and putting left over juice back in the fridge, he leaned against the sink and began sipping away at his glass.

He thought to the numerous times this cabin had been a safe haven for him. Years ago the cabin was anonymously bought by a friend of his for vacation but allowed Nathan to use it to hide from the church or anyone who might be looking for him. This friend had disappeared at the start of the war however, and it slightly bothered him.

Ana stirred in her sleep. Nathan stared in disbelief, unsure why a servant would stir. He heard her mumbled something but Nathan couldn't hear what it was. He wondered if her dream was better than his and shuddered after remembering his nightmare again.

He finished his juice and headed back to his room. After passing the couch, he had a thought and decided to grab a blanket from a nearby closet. He gently pulled the blanket over Ana and smiled as she some how instinctively grabbed hold of it. He then left her alone on the couch and entered his room.

He changed this time into sweats and a T-shirt before jumping into bed again. The soft bed seemed almost untouched to him this time, despite that he had fallen off the bed earlier. He cleared his thoughts from his head and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Morning came quick and Nathan got up. He figured he ought to use the eggs and bacon he saw in the fridge the night before for breakfast. As he started moving to the kitchen he glanced at his gear. After a moment of thought he decided he could take the day to relax and learn more about his servant.

The bacon sizzled as Nathan poured the eggs into a different pan. He heard movement behind him soon after and he peeked at Ana who just sat up on the couch. A few minutes of cooking later, He turned to see Ana sitting down at the table as he began plating the food.

"Morning Ana," he gave her a smile. She didn't smile back but seemed unsure how to respond.

"Morning master," she said shyly.

"I hope you slept well," he said as he turned off the burner.

"Not really," she rubbed her eyes. Nathan grabbed the two plates of omelettes and bacon and headed to the table.

"Next time I'll let you use a bed sorry," he placed a plate in front of her and sat next to her with his own.

"That's ok I'm only a servant," she also mumbled under her breath what sounded like "and a Monster".

"Is that how you wish to be seen?" he began eating but Ana hadn't even touched her fork yet.

"What do you mean?"

"From where I sit, you don't seem to be lesser than me," he was referring to the fact that most masters that he had learned about considered their servant merely as an emotionless tool and were thus lesser than them.

"You know what a Servant is right?"

"Yes, but you were once a person. Why would technically being dead mean that you don't deserve basic human rights.

"Master," she removed her hood revealing her headband, "I'm not even human." She looked at him and he once again realized that something was really odd about her eyes but he still couldn't place it..

"Ana, you could be… an Orc or something obscure, but I don't think I would treat you any differently."

"Why," she was now staring at her untouched food. Nathan felt the question rising in his gut but he now felt like he shouldn't ask it. He sighed as he knew the only way to get through this was to do it.

"Ana, what is your true name?" he gritted his teeth trying to brace himself for the answer.

"It's…" she was mumbling as she pulled her hood back on as if to hide from him, "Medusa."

Nathan sat back. Everything now made sense to him; her eyes, the two girls from his nightmare, even her calling herself names. She had wanted to avoid telling him thinking he would immediately think of her as the monster she would become. She kept hiding under her hood as if anticipating something harsh to happen to her.

"Ana…" he started, "I...I'm sorry."

"What for, you didn't do anything wrong?" she said, but she looked at him again making Nathan feel slightly better.

"What I know of your life is horrible, and I know that loneliness well. I was left to die in a desert alone with nobody for several Kilometers minimum. I spent a week trying to survive and almost failed. It may not be exactly the same but I know how you feel. Which is why I want to help you." Nathan decided to try being straight forward with his feelings.

"I...don't really have a desire or a wish of any kind," she said, once again staring at her plate.

"Let me be more specific. I want to give you the opportunity to have a somewhat different and maybe better life." she looked at him again.

"Why do you want to do that?" she asked.

"I believe if you didn't have the gods being jealous of your beauty, you might have had a good life. I might not be able to give you a perfect new life with what is currently happening, but I will try my best."

"But I'm technically a monster. Am I even worth the hassle?"

"You're only a monster if you let yourself be one. You can still choose not to be one. This summoning is an opportunity to receive the joy you might have forgotten," with this statement Nathan finished his meal and headed to the sink.

"Can I have some time to think about this offer?" she asked as she got up from the table.

"Certainly, you technically have 1,000 acres of forest to think, if you need it." Nathan began washing the dishes.

"Thank you master." she then headed out the back door next to the kitchen. Nathan then quickly finished the dishes but left Ana's untouched plate where it was.

He then headed back to the bedroom and began to change into his gear again. Once changed he realized he needed to make more black keys. Fortunately Nathan remembered a stash of weapons that he hid in the closet. He opened the closet and smiled. The arms he had stashed there were still there which included tons of black keys that he had personally modified, ammo for his Five-Seven, and an Ump 9 with lots of ammo. He restocked his keys but left the ammo and Ump 9 for later. He then headed back to the main part of the cabin.

Now with time to relax, he sat on the couch. His thoughts drifted to his servant and his spur of the moment offer. Could he actually fulfill what he promised her? He certainly couldn't while on a mission to end his former teacher, but he began to wonder for the first time what he would do after this quest for revenge. He began to consider settling down somewhere to just enjoy the rest of life with his servant. He brought himself back to reality though saying he had no idea if they would even live that long.

Realizing he had been sitting there a good 15 minutes, Nathan got up and went outside. The cabin had a large meadow behind it that often had really tall grass. Luckily the grass had been cut recently so one could easily walk out there without much trouble.

He spotted Ana immediately as she was standing next to a brown horse at the edge of the meadow. She was brushing it with her hand from what he could tell but even at this distance he thought she looked adorable so he decided to simply watch her for a while. He wondered if she was smiling or not while she petted it. He shook his head as at that distance he couldn't tell.

He started walking over after hearing her humming a strange tune he had never heard before. As he got closer he realized there was a form of magecraft hidden within her voice, and if he wasn't wearing his mantle he would have succumbed to it. He continued toward her.

"You have a lovely voice, Ana," he said once he was a short distance from her. She turned her head toward him.

"Thank you master," she said.

"Do you like horses?"

"I'm unsure, I haven't been around them long enough to know."

"Here," he grabbed an apple from inside one of his pouches and tossed it to her. "Most horses love apples," Ana caught the apple. She looked at it and then at the horse. She then held it toward the horse's mouth and watched in amazement as it was eaten from her hand.

"Mind if I ask what you were humming just now?" Nathan asked as the horse munched on the apple.

"It's an old Greek song equivalent to a children's nursery rhyme."

"Remind me to have you tell me the lyrics sometime." Nathan smiled.

"Master," she started to pet the horse again, "I still don't have an answer for your offer right now."

"That's ok, we have a lot of time."

"I think I'll take my time deciding then, mostly because I don't know you too well yet master."

"If you wish I can tell you my life story?" he said. However both immediately felt the presence of something landing on a tree branch close by. The horse bolted while the two faced a man with blue hair wearing a hawaiian shirt and black pants holding a fishing basket.

"Oh, man. I could've spent 5 more minutes fishing instead of interrupting this delicate moment." The man was obviously a lancer servant but why he was dressed so casually confused Nathan. He dropped from the tree as if it were nothing more than a step.

"Master, be careful." Ana said as she gripped her weapon tighter.

"You recognize me already?" the lancer seemed surprised.

"Barely," she grimaced.

"Wait, you also remind me of someone. from the last holy grail war if I had to guess," he rubbed his chin as he began looking at Ana intently.

"What makes you say that?"

"Those eyes mostly, you wouldn't happen to be the Rider from that war?" he smirked as Ana sighed.

"so the dog can use it's nose," she half mumbled.

"Ha, at least this dog didn't get it's head twisted off by some old teacher," the Lancer laughed.

"What, who?" Nathan was still unsure who this was, but he didn't exactly like his servant being identified by him.

"Master, this is Cú Chulainn," Ana said. "Hero from the Ulster cycle. I never actually met him in person but the grandfather of my previous master told me about him once." she reluctantly relaxed.

"Heh, that old worm man? You had it rough."

"Not as bad as Sakura," she mumbled.

"Wait, I'm confused, are we about to fight?" Nathan said.

"If he wanted to fight he wouldn't be dressed the way he is." Ana said. "The most he'll do is throw weak insults at you."

"You sound like you know me well." The blue haired Lancer shrugged. "Also I remember you being a lot taller."

"Sorry to disappoint." she said as her weapon disappeared.

"Cú Chulainn, why are you here?" Nathan asked as he put his keys away.

"My master wanted to give you a message. You see, her and her husband decided to tell you about a group of refugees just up the coast. They want people to help protect the civilians there."

"What makes you think we want to do that?" Nathan asked.

"My master says she can give you information in return, you see she worked for Clocktower for a while, still does in a way, she can get you information on anyone you want even those in the church."

"That's tempting, but wouldn't this just be a trap set up by the Association?"

"You make it sound like she's with those idiots.," Lancer gave a short chuckle, "She's acting as a spy in the Association, she wants to help her man protect people. She's the reason the refugees are still safe if we're being honest"

"That won't last long," Nathan thought out loud. "Mages will figure it out fairly quickly." he then turned to Ana. "what do you think Ana?"

"Ana?" Lancer said. "How cute." he teased while laughing.

"Shut up Lancer," she turned to Nathan. "I don't really like humans, master, but if you insist on helping them I will comply."

"This is a job that will get us to our objective faster," Nathan said, "we also have no leads either," he turned to Cú Culainn, "we accept the offer, Sétanta,"

"Sweet, just head north of here to the shore then head east. You'll reach the camp in no time." he turned to walk away. "Hey, Medusa. It will be nice to work with you for once, huh?"

"Maybe, Hound of Culann," she said, "we'll just have to wait and see." With those words the blue haired Lancer smiled before he took a giant leap and disappeared over the trees.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"So Ana," Nathan said, "You remember your past summons," the dusk was quickly changing to night but Nathan knew they would at least reach the sea before then. As they walked, he decided to ask her a question that had been slightly bugging him since their meeting with Cú Chulainn.

"Only up to the last war of this universe," she said, "I wasn't given any memories for this current war almost like I have to remember things in chronological order."

"The situation is further complicated by the fact that you have memories from when you were a different class too." he rubbed his thin goatee.

"It is strange, master." she said.

"You know you can call me Nate if you want."

"If that is your wish,"

"It just seems easier." he thought for a moment but couldn't come up with why she had those memories. Even other servants seemed to have the same ability if he was being honest.

"Mast…. " she stopped herself. "Nate, do my memories matter that much?"

"Maybe," he shook his head, "but it could also be the Throne of Heroes deciding it was necessary information."

"It seems like it would be a useless admission to the grail if it wasn't done by the Throne."

"Yeah," Nate sighed. He didn't want to count out the possibility of it being a plot to undermine servants but Ana was right. To alter the grail to do something like this would be a lot of work for an effect that could be considered a double edged sword. He decided to leave this thought trail for a later time.

After walking through the woods they eventually reached the beach. The low tide waved back and forth while the wind blew both Nate's and Ana's hoods off. Nate left his hood off but Ana quickly put her's back on as the last rays of sun disappeared leaving the beach empty and dark.

"The sea," Nathan said.

"Do you like the ocean Master?" Ana asked. "Err, Nate."

"In certain places, yes."

"Hmmm," she seemed to be thinking about something but Nathan couldn't tell what. The two began walking east.

"Master, sorry, Nate." Ana said, breaking the silence. "You haven't told me about your life yet."

"Right," he said with a small sigh. He knew he would have to tell her eventually but it was still rough for him. "When I was young I lived with my family in the United States."

"I knew you were an American." she said with a smirk.

"Right. Anyways my family was flying out to the beach for vacation, however the plane was shot out of the sky by a missile from an unknown source. Because I was young at the time, I had no idea what was happening. I would later find out that it was shot down to kill a rogue mage.

"I remember waking up in my seat and then searching for anyone I could find after that crash." Nate continued. "I would find out I was the only survivor. Because the plane didn't go far, I was stranded in the middle of a desert. I tried to survive but by the 3rd day I realized I wasn't going to. If it wasn't for the church investigating the crash, I would've died."

"When did they get there?" Ana asked.

"A week after the crash. The only reason I made it that long is because it rained on the fourth day and I capitalized on it."

"So you were rescued only to be betrayed?" she asked more to herself than anything, "sounds similar to another servant I know."

"Pretty much." he would've continued his story but he spotted lightning in the distance.

"Master, it's a servant." Ana said as she once again prepared Harpe for combat. The two watched as the lightning came closer, but it seemed to be following something. Before long, Nate could finally spot the chariot pulled by bulls as it flew through the air. The chariot began to circle them while he tried to figure out who it was.

"I think King Gordius…" Ana started. She must have been thinking the same as him, "No, he wouldn't ride into combat like this." she seemed just as stumped as him. The chariot then landed and stopped a good 20 yards from them.

"Hello, fellow servant and master," the servant said with a booming voice from his chariot. He was big from what Nate could tell and he wore a red mantle with a fluffy white fur collar with bronze armor underneath. "I am Iskandar! King of Conquerors," Nathan's jaw dropped from the servant revealing his true name so casually. He looked over to Ana who still looked confused as to who this rider class servant was.

"I am charged with protecting the refugees and my master," Iskandar continued, "so if you wish to remain alive I suggest you leave."

"I believe I was hired to help you guys actually." Nathan responded after recovering from his initial shock.

"It's kind of hard to believe you when you wear that mantle of yours," he responded.

"Regardless, I was offered things in return. You must understand I need to speak with the leader of your camp."

"If you truly are the Mercenary I heard about then I must put you to the test," Iskandar then left his chariot. He walked toward them and pulled his sword. "I was told that you were good, so let me determine if that is so!" he then charged Nate.

Iskandar was slower than most servants, but he still almost put his blade through Nate's head. Nate then backflipped away while Ana blocked Rider's blade from taking off his head while he did so. Upon landing, he watched as Ana and Iskandar traded attacks while unslinging his UMP 9.

He frowned as he realized Iskandar's Spatha was the same length as his custom made black keys. Still he lined up his sights to assist Ana, but first switched it's fire mode to semi-automatic. Iskandar wouldn't be in danger from these bullets but they would certainly distract him long enough for Ana to deal with him. He squeezed off a round toward the Rider's right shoulder while Ana swung with harpe toward his head from his left.

Surprisingly, Iskandar jumped back to dodge both attacks. Nathan then fired another round before Iskandar could attack the now open Ana. The bullet was deflected off the Spatha but Ana was able to now swipe to his feet causing him to jump over her blade and Nate fired another round to keep him from attacking while in the air.

Iskandar then surprised Nathan again as he unsheathed a small knife with his free hand as he landed and then threw it toward Nate. He pulled a key out quickly just in time to deflect the knife with it, however he now knew that neither he nor Ana could block his full strength as the key broke from the impact.

Nathan turned back to the fight in time to see Ana get backhanded, sending her tumbling across the sand until she skidded to a stop. Iskandar now roughly stood between both of them. He seemed to be debating his options while Ana stood up from her crouched position.

"I never thought I would have to fight a child," Iskandar laughed, "even less that the kid was actually quite skilled." Ana didn't respond and Nathan knew she wouldn't until either she knew more about her opponent or she was forced to. Iskandar then turned to Nathan. "It is time to see how you fare," he charged Nate.

Nate activated the runes on his boots thus granting him increased speed. It normally wouldn't be enough to fight a servant but Iskandar was slower than most. He tossed aside his UMP and drew two of his keys to use like melee weapons. He deflected Iskandar's downward strike into the ground and moved to stab at him. The large rider of course blocked with the flat side of his blade.

Although Nate couldn't see her, Ana made an attack from behind Iskandar. This forced him to dodge sideways to face both of them. He then stomped the ground with his massive foot sending sand into the air, thus blinding Nate. Before Nate could tell what was going on he heard the two servants exchange once more.

When Nate could see again, he saw the two a little ways away. Iskandar was bleeding from a small but long cut on his arm and, from what he could tell of Ana's condition, she was bleeding from a significant cut on her right leg and a small cut on her forehead. Before Nate could do anything however, Iskandar drove his blade into her right shoulder and she screamed from the pain. He removed his blade and watched as she fell clutching her wound.

The Rider faced Nate. Without a word, which seemed questionable to Nate, He charged once more. Nate swung with a rage he hadn't felt since he left the executors, shattering the key on impact with the rider's blade.

"Time alter," Nate knew he would regret this as soon as he spoke but decided his best chance of surviving was to use what little he knew of innate time control, "Double accel." the time around him seemed a lot slower now. He quickly used this to attack with his keys. Iskandar seemed to barely be able to block any of Nate's relentless attacks as he stepped back.

Each swing forced the King of Conquerors back. Nate knew he was destroying more keys than he wanted but he didn't care. He suddenly saw an opening and he stabbed toward his opponent's heart. Iskandar jumped back however, but Nate still caught the side of his leg. The rider was kneeling a few yards from him now and Nate stopped for a second realizing his breath was extremely heavy and his body ached badly.

"Well fought," the King said, "Consider me convinced." he then laughed as he put his sword away. Nate dropped to his knees.

"RIDER!" a young girl yelled from somewhere further down the beach. Nate noticed as she got closer that she was a Homunculus similar to those made by the Einzberns but she seemed slightly different for some reason. "Don't tell me you injured the help we just acquired again." She said this as soon as she was a short distance from him as if she were a nagging mother. Iskandar looked like a kid who just got in trouble for tracking mud into the house for the umpteenth time as he smiled.

"Master?" it was Ana this time. She was limping slowly toward him while clutching her injured shoulder. Nate went to reach into his pouch for something to draw a rune onto his servant but was interrupted.

"Sir, I will heal your servant," the homunculus said. "Consider it my apology for the stupidity of my servant."

"Good," Nate heaved. As was said before he kind of regretted using time magecraft that he barely knew how to use as his lungs felt like they were on fire.

"Rider, let's use your chariot to get them to camp. You've done enough damage for tonight."

"Yes, my master." Iskander said as he stood. Before anything else could be said, Ana fell over from her injuries just before Nate landed face first into the sand.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next few hours were filled with worry. After Nate's collapse, the group had rushed onto Rider's chariot and flew as fast as they could to the camp. Ana had been healed mid flight by the homunculus, whom she found out was named Eve, but her master was a different story. Once at the camp they had rushed him into a large tent where he could be analysed because Eve wanted more information before healing him.

Ana sat in a chair next to her master's cot. Eve had just declared that Nate had ruptured several veins and arteries and his lungs had almost collapsed. She of course used her magecraft to heal him but she said that he might be unconscious for the next several hours to at most 2 days. If Ana hadn't watched them do it she wouldn't have believed them.

She herself felt fine, of course, but she rubbed her shoulder still remembering the bite of Iskandar's sword. The fight had drained her of a lot of mana too, but nowhere near the amount her master used. She placed her head in her hands. If only she hadn't been hit. She then wondered if she should use her spirit form to lower her mana cost for him.

The flap to the tent opened and Ana looked up. The bed was near the entrance and, even though this was the medical tent for the entire camp, it was nearly empty. At first she didn't think much about the woman who had just entered the tent holding a tray of lemonade but Ana took a second look and froze. This young woman's hair was golden and seemed as if sprinkled with gold dust. Her outfit was a blue knee length skirt with tights, a white shirt with a blue string tie, and brown boots that moved elegantly as she turned toward Ana and her master.

"Hello," the woman said. She would have continued but was interrupted.

"Saber?" Ana uttered not realizing she had stood up. Her presence was certainly that of a servant too, but Ana, for some reason, wished that it had been someone else.

"Do you know me?" Saber tilted her head and Ana tried not to spot the ahoge on the top of her head.

"Yes," Ana said through gritted teeth.

"I don't know you though," she said, "I don't remember fighting anything as young as you, Lancer."

"Right," Ana sighed. She quickly tried to drop any hostility toward the other servant upon realizing the two of them were supposed to be allies. She vaguely remembered this servant anyway, so why did she react so strongly to her?

"Lancer, did you want a drink?" Saber asked, holding out the tray to her.

"Thank you, Saber." She took one of the glasses from the tray and began siping at it.

"Your eyes seem interesting to me," Saber then placed the tray on the side table. "Who are you?" she turned back toward Ana.

"I don't know if I should tell you," Ana was getting anxious. "At least not yet." she hadn't even learned this Servant's true name, but sharing her's was something she had trouble with especially to those she had never met. The saber then crouched down to see Ana eye to eye.

"That's fine, but you should at least get some air." The Saber smiled at her.

"I guess," Ana said. She figured a walk outside wouldn't hurt, if anything it might help her not worry about her master. Saber stood and the two then walked out of the tent.

The camp was roughly circular with forest surrounding it but one could easily hear and smell the nearby ocean. It was morning now and many inhabitants were busy moving supplies and various other tasks. Ana unconsciously followed Saber around the camp until they passed the tent that they used for the kitchen. As they passed, another familiar face appeared carrying a large box. Unlike Saber, this face actually was someone whom Ana worried about seeing.

"Oh, Saber!" the man said. He had tanned skin with white hair and grey eyes, but Ana remembered his hair style differently for some reason though. He wore normal clothes with a pale colored cloak, and he was a bit shorter than she remembered.

"Archer?" Ana said without thinking. The two looked at her and Ana realized that the man before her didn't even have the presence of a servant. She blushed in embarrassment while Saber held in a giggle and the man smiled awkwardly.

"You must have been in the last holy grail war," he said, "though I don't remember a child in that war."

"I was older as well as a different class." Ana said.

"Ah, you must have been the Rider," the man said. Saber's mouth dropped as it was quite clear she had spent the entire time trying to figure out who Ana was. Ana blushed some more.

"How did you figure that out, Shirou?" Saber asked.

"deduction, mostly," Shirou said, "there were only 3 female servants in that war and I would like to say I got to know at least two of them pretty well." he winked at saber, "That and Rider's eyes were never seen so it would make sense if it was because they are so... interesting." he seemed like he wanted to say beautiful.

"Who are you?" Ana asked. This was now really important that she knew who this man was and why he seemed to know her. Shirou laughed.

"I'm Shirou Tohsaka," he said, "I was Saber's master in the last war."

"That makes sense," Ana sighed, but why did this boy whom she almost plucked the eyes out of look like that Archer? She then remembered this boy had a different family name. "Wasn't your name Emiya before?"

"Yes, but I got married recently and I decided to change my name,"

"Wait, didn't you wear a mask for most of the war?" Saber asked. "How did you recognize us?"

"Description, mostly from my master's sister," Ana said, "also from actually being able to see in spirit form."

"Right, Sakura," Shirou said. He then realized he was still holding a box "oh, I better get this inside." the group then followed him into the tent. Inside they found a makeshift kitchen that the entire camp must have to use as it was quite busy with people preparing food.

"Why do you look like Archer?" Ana asked. They went into a different part of the tent where the food was stored.

"Right, you weren't around for the end of the war so you didn't learn Archer's true name." Shirou then put the box on a shelf that was next to a giant fridge with other similar boxes.

"I didn't even learn Saber's true name," Ana said under her breath.

"The reason I look like him is because he was me." Ana thought that he wouldn't be so upfront about it, so she was shocked when he spoke.

"What?" After the shock came some confusion for her.

"Archer was me from a different universe or world, one in which I made a pact with Alaya to protect humanity as a counter guardian."

"Oh," it made sense to Ana now. So much sense that she didn't really have anything to add.

"Saber do you want to reveal who you are?" Shirou asked her.

"I should," she said after a moment of thought, "Iskandar has broadcasted it to the whole camp by now so I guess she'll find out soon enough anyway" she turned to Ana.

"My true name is Artoria Pendragon," she gave a short bow after speaking.

"It's not a name I'm familiar with but thank you for sharing it with me," Ana smiled innocently. While she knew this was the king of knights, she honestly didn't know more beyond that.

"Saber, we never did find out Rider's true name." Shirou said.

"Right," Ana felt her anxiety rise again, but she knew that she needed to tell them. She took a deep breath, "My name is," she gulped. What would they do if they found out who she was? She began to panic.

"Are you ok Lancer?" Artoria asked.

"I…" she tried again but found it harder to push away her anxiety this time. She looked up at them. It seemed like she couldn't breathe.

"Mister Tohsaka!" The familiar voice of Iskandar shook the tent. Moments later the servant appeared before them in the small storage area that instantly seemed smaller. "I was wondering what the morning feast would be?" Ana noticed him give her a wink as if he knew she was in trouble.

"We plan to make a breakfast burrito," Shirou responded while scratching his head. "I've actually never made one before."

"I'm sure that it will be worthy of a king regardless." Iskandar pounded his chest with his fist.

"You know, since we're servants we're not supposed to eat right?" Artoria said.

"Ha! Don't tell me you haven't been sneaking some bites here and there." he said with a chuckle and Artoria blushed a little.

"With the added help we plan to have a celebration tonight," Eve said from somewhere behind her servant. "Assuming the new master wakes up by then."

"I look forward to it then," Artoria said, trying to make visual contact with Eve.

"A true feast then by a master chef. I approve!" Iskandar's voice shook the tent again as he laughed. Ana then reminisced about a time when Sakura had brought home some of this boy's cooking and her mouth watered at the thought.

"We should leave this room," Shirou said.

"Right," Iskandar said. "Careful master these flaps are barely big enough to let me through." Iskandar and Eve then began making their way out of the tent. Him and his master wouldn't be seen for several hours from now.

"Wait, Saber," Ana said, "Is Shirou still your master?"

"No," she said. "Rin and him decided to let me be summoned by a different master." Now that Iskandar wasn't blocking the way, the group made their way out of the tent to where this conversation began.

"Rin was the master of Archer wasn't she?" Ana asked.

"Yes, she had summoned Lancer this time from the previous war," Shirou said, "which is why Saber needed to be summoned by someone else."

"You're not a master this time?" Ana asked.

"No, Rin wanted me to save my mana for the magecraft that I use."

"You use magecraft? I thought you were incompetent at it?"

"To give you credit, I discovered a lot of my abilities during that war."

"Ok," Ana then reminded herself that the kid now adult was basically Archer but younger and not as impressive yet. They were now standing outside the tent again.

"Your master seems like a decent mage this time," Artoria observed.

"Shinji wasn't very good." Ana said. "He reminds me of someone from my life though." Ana then stopped talking as she might have just hinted at her identity.

"Yeah, I guess he was a worse master than me," Shirou said with a laugh.

"Shirou!" A flirtatious call from a female came from somewhere in the camp.

"Speaking of masters," Shirou said with a chuckle. A woman suddenly rushed into the scene and interlocked her arm with Shirou's. She wore a long blue dress and her golden hair was styled entirely in large coils.

"Tell me you have breakfast ready, it's impolite to keep a lady waiting." the woman said.

"Luvia, you know I'm married right?" Shirou said trying not to look like he was engaging her flirts even if he was unsuccessful. Ana couldn't help but giggle.

"Oh, the new servant," Luvia noticed Ana and let go of Shirou. She then crouched to meet Ana's eye level. "Aren't you just a cutie." Ana gave her an awkward smile as she almost pinched Ana's cheek.

"Hello," Ana said as she tried to keep from being pinched.

"Master, could you please give Lancer some space?" Artoria asked Luvia with her arms crossed.

"Oh right, she's just too adorable though." Luvia stopped trying to pinch her cheek. "Anyway I'm Luviagelita Edelfelt, the master of Saber here."

"I'm Lancer, as you know but you all can call me Ana if you so please." Ana said and Luvia seemed to have almost died from how cute her name was.

"Ana," Artoria said with interest. "Did you use that name during the last war?"

"No, my older self wouldn't want to use it."

"You were in the last war too," Luvia swooned some more.

"Yes well, I should go check on my master. Excuse me please." Luvia was almost on the ground from the cuteness overload that Ana had just provided but honestly Ana was tired of conversing with her. She turned and began walking back to the medical tent.

Her master hadn't even moved which was both a relief and a worry. Ana sat back down in her chair as she began thinking about what had just transpired. She shook her head as she tried to figure out how she would tell them who she was. She also didn't know if she should participate in the celebration feast because of the previous concern. How could she smile when she knew what she would become. She was a monster and she couldn't be anything else.

"Hey there," Nathan said and Ana looked up from staring at the ground.

"Master?!" she squealed as her face lit up. She quickly wiped a tear from her eye and moved to his bedside.

"Didn't I say to call me Nate?" he laughed weakly as he was still in pain.

"Yes you did sorry," Ana said.

"Good you're awake," Eve entered the tent. "How do you feel." she walked over to the other side of the bed.

"Like shit," Nathan said bluntly. He hadn't moved yet except for his head but Ana could tell even that wasn't exactly pleasant.

"You wouldn't be lying," Eve said. "Anyway I'm going to give you a quick patch job to make sure you don't fall apart quite yet. just relax." she placed her hand on his chest and closed her eyes to focus. Ana then could feel her using her magecraft to heal him. After a few seconds Eve withdrew her hand.

"Thanks but I don't feel entirely better doc," Nathan said.

"I don't have the ability to do that at this moment but your body is now able to repair what's left of the damage by itself. Also you may call me Eve."

"Alright, Eve." Nathan sat up but winced as he did so. He was shirtless but Ana knew that was removed when they got there.

"Master of Lancer, do you feel capable of eating anything?" Eve asked.

"Probably an entire pig. Why?"

"We have a banquet to celebrate your arrival and help." she then picked up Nathan's mantle from a pile of his stuff that was nearby and tossed it to him.

"Thank you, and you may call me Nate or Nathan if you like." He put on his mantle and moved to stand up on Ana's side of the bed. He almost fell but Ana caught him.

"Careful, mas...Nate," she said.

"Thank you Ana," he said.

"Please follow me," Eve said with a smile. They then made their way to the middle of the camp where the largest tent was sent up to act as a cafeteria with Ana helping her master walk the whole way there. There they found Saber and Luvia sitting at a long table at the head of the large tent. It seemed everyone was still gathering as the tent was slowly filling with people.

"Lancer, Eve!" Luvia shouted and waved as soon as she spotted them. The group then made their way to the table and sat down with the servant and her master. They would then spend the next few minutes catching Nate up on what Ana had learned earlier.

"Though she still hasn't told us her name yet," Artoria said.

"I'm sure we should wait until everyone is here and gathered before we share that," Nathan said and Ana smiled in appreciation toward him.

"It would be more efficient if we wait, besides I do appreciate a good build up," Luvia replied almost with a purr.

"The food should be handed out soon," Shirou then pulled up a chair as he spoke. "Nate was it?"

"Yes, um," Nate had never learned Shirou's name to which the latter would introduce himself.

"Tohsaka... is the name of a powerful mage family right?" Nate asked.

"Ah, you must be thinking of my wife, see I merely married into the family my original name was Emiya."

"Emiya?" Nate looked like he not only had heard the name but it was rather an important name that affected him personally. "Any relation to Kiritsugu Emiya?"

"Yes, he was my adoptive father, why?"

"As a mercenary one often hears tales of a certain Magus slayer." Nate said but for some reason Ana knew there was more to it than that.

"I'm afraid I don't know all those tales," Shirou said with interest almost as if this was brand new to him.

"I'll have to share some sometime then." Nate said.

"Looks like the food is being set out," Eve said. They all looked to see several people putting large trays of food on a very long table implying that one was supposed to just take pieces of what they wanted to eat kinda like a potluck.

"Where's Iskandar," Luvia asked. Eve only gave her a glare that said that if you know him at all you know where he is. The second the last tray was placed the King of Conquerors entered the tent making sure that his arrival was suited to that of a king. (the entire tent noticed his entrance) He was the first to grab a paper plate for food as well as being the first to pick food out for himself.

"Good to see you Master of Lancer!" Iskandar said as he sat down with the group with his multiple plates in the only chair large enough to fit him.

"Thank you Iskandar," Nate replied. "As I have told everyone else, You may call me Nate or Nathan."

"I will be sure to make use of it, Master Nate," Iskandar then started downing the massive meal he had grabbed for himself.

"Ana," Luvia said to grab her attention. "I believe it is time." Ana stared back in a cold sweat.

"Everyone is gathered, but we're not trying to force you to reveal yourself." Shirou must've picked up on her nervousness.

"Though It would be best to get it out of the way now," Artoria said.

"As your fellow allies, we must know at some point." Eve said. Ana could feel her anxiety rise like the tides of the ocean all while the others had spoken. Now she was struggling to breathe again and she thought at any moment her heart would stop. It was then that her master placed his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"Ana, I will remain with you if no one else will." he said with a smile. Somehow this comforted her and with a deep breath she spoke.

"I am...Medusa," she didn't know what the group would react with and time seemed to slow despite the noise of the room.

After what seemed like eternity to Ana, Iskandar finally laughed. "How fortunate that we have such strength in our camp."

"Iskandar," Nate said. "I know you'll want to boast about this to everyone, but I must ask that you refrain from doing so. Mostly because we have no way to confirm if Perseus was summoned to this war or not."

"As you wish," the huge man said seemingly disappointed.

"I think Iskandar is right though," Artoria said. "Even as a younger form, she would be quite powerful." the table nodded in agreement.

"You're not worried I might attack this camp or something," Ana asked more for herself than anything.

"Ana," Nate said, "you may have the monstrous strength skill but you are not the monster you will become."

"Th….thank you master," Ana almost felt tears forming in her eyes.

"Let's eat then," Eve said. They began standing to go get their food. Ana went to help her master but he waved her off indicating that he had regained at least enough strength to do so on his own.

"Luvia are you okay?" Shirou asked.

"Oh yes, quite." Luvia said. She looked as if unsure about Ana now. "I was just shocked at who she was. How could someone so cute become such an awful being." she seemed to be speaking honestly, though she still looked unsure.

"It's a long story that I would rather not share." Ana said. She remembered her sisters suddenly and tried to put the thought out of her mind before she reminded herself what she did to them. She then made her way to the food table.

"Ana," Shirou said, catching up to her. She turned toward him and he crouched to her level. "I'm glad you're with us," he smiled warmly, which felt strange but for some reason she felt more relaxed from this action. she hadn't felt this kind of relaxation for a long time.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The night air was cold and still despite the speed at which the chariot moved through the air. The full moon above provided excellent vision of the forest below, at least as good as it could be at night. If there wasn't a war going on Ana might have enjoyed the scenery as it rushed below them.

"To think someone like you would be on our side." Iskandar said as he piloted the flying chariot. They were patrolling several miles from the camp to keep watch for invaders or enemy scouts. He flew low so that they could use the trees as cover should the need arise.

"I'm not at my full strength in this form," she said. She pulled her hood down to cast a larger shadow over her face.

"Not quite what I meant but you're not wrong." he said. "Most legends speak of you as a monster, so I was wondering why you decided to help humans this time around?" Ana looked toward him as he spoke but his back remained toward her as he flew.

"I wish I knew," She mumbled to herself. Why was her master so kind to her? Even to the point of offering a different life? And Saber wasn't upset with her after finding out? She shook her head in confusion. "What do you think, King of Conquerors."

"I'm not quite sure but if I had to say I get the impression that you were simply misunderstood. The gods were always strange to creatures who weren't them."

"Yeah," Ana rubbed her chin, remembering the wrath and hate of a certain particular goddess.

"As you currently are I'd say you want to be liked by humans. Of course your past would create some distrust." he shifted his weight as if he was thinking more than flying the chariot.

"You know so much about me but I know so little about you?" she said, more annoyed than anything.

"Heh, I guess you were killed before I came around." he gave a small smile over his shoulder at her. "But Ana, I must ask," his face became serious, "how do you see yourself?"

"What do you mean, Iskandar?"

"Do you consider yourself a monster or something else?" he rephrased.

"I… never really thought about it before," she knew the answer but she didn't want to admit to him how she saw herself. She then remembered something Saber had told her before they left to patrol the forest. "Are these questions an attempt to recruit me?"

"Of course," he said loudly, pounding his chest. Ana smiled while shaking her head. "You fight well, but you seem to lack purpose. You would greatly benefit from being among my army." he laughed loudly.

"I'm sorry I have to decline," she said, "I just wish I knew what else I should do." she mumbled the last part to herself. The two went silent again. Just as Iskandar was about to speak again however, they both felt it. The presence of magic beyond that of a mage, but not quite a servant, came from off the left of the chariot. Ana squinted to see a strange silhouette creep into the trees.

"Drop me off there, I'll investigate it from the ground." she pointed to where she spotted the creature. Iskandar nodded and turned the chariot to where she had indicated. Once there she jumped off the side, superhero landing with a light thud and drawing out Harpe.

She closed her eyes to listen better. She wasn't a hunter of animals but finding humans through ruins had taught her a thing or two about it. The snap of a twig came from her left. She then checked to make sure it had the same magical presence as before. It did, but there was something in the air that she had felt before she became a servant.

"A trap?" she opened her eyes in shock. She then sensed more creatures moving to surround her. She moved into the center of the nearby lit clearing so she could fight with more of an advantage. She watched as masses of tentacles entered the light of the moon around her. She stood ready but then she finally sensed the presence of a servant just outside the tree line.

"What an adorable little girl." it was male and, judging from what she could feel of his presence and the summoned army around her, she guessed it was a caster. "Tell me, how do you wish to die? By torture, hmmm?"

"I'll die when I feel like it," she muttered. She jumped high into the air as a tentacle lunged at her. She then brought down Harpe through the middle of the creature. As it screamed an inhuman death scream, Ana then jumped into a barrel roll as more tentacles moved toward her. From the air she fired her chain at a tree limb across the clearing. She then held out Harpe to slice through several of the creatures as she was dragged to the tree.

She released the chain from the branch toward the end, planting her feet against the tree and used it to backflip out into the clearing again, bringing harpe down through another creature. She spun around flashing the blade through the appendages of another. It screamed in what she assumed was pain and she moved in closer to slice it in half.

"What a fascinating weapon you have there," The voice of the unidentified caster said. "Is it suited for killing monsters I wonder?"

"Sure," she remained vague as the weapon she carried was the very device used to decapitate her. Back in combat, She used the core of the weapon to push a creature back, then pulled it back slightly so that the mass of tentacles could get closer before she sliced it. Mid swing she let go of the scythe-like sword, grabbing the chain on the back of it and continuing the motion into a 360 slice that cut through several more creatures.

More were coming though and Ana frowned. She knew she wouldn't last long against this torment. She swung Harpe by it's chain allowing her to cut another mass of tentacles in half. Then a horde of the creatures barged into the clearing on the opposite side of where Ana was and charged her in a large stampede.

A warcry came from behind her and Ana turned to see Iskandar's chariot rush past her on it's way to trample the creatures. She then aimed her grappling chain and fired at the chariot. From there she slingshotted herself across the clearing and planted her feet deep into a creature which was squished against a tree.

The chariot had made a quick donut turn around by the time Ana finished off the creature, so she used the tree she was now against to backflip onto the chariot as it slowed to stop in the middle of the clearing.

"Come out Caster!" Iskandar yelled, "or are you too much of a coward to fight me yourself?" the Caster seemed to laugh in response. The reason Ana hadn't tried to fight him yet was because he seemed to be in multiple spots around the clearing and she knew she couldn't focus on him with her current strength.

"Oh, you may have been a great conqueror, but we have a way to deal with you." as the Caster finished speaking she felt it. She didn't even need to check for the servant's presence as the ground and chariot shook. Soon the servant appeared by bending trees over and peering into the clearing.

"A Berserker!" Ana said, surprised that the huge being wielding 2 large axes radiated with an anger she had never seen before. What shocked her more was that this dark skinned man made Iskandar look like a toy.

"Not just any berserker," there was a hint of pre-exhaustion in the king's voice.

"Iskandar!" The Berserker yelled.

"Darius the third, my fated enemy." he said as the large king of Persia stood up straight, preparing to charge the chariot.

"Lead him away from here so you can fight him easier." Ana said. She hopped off the back of the chariot. "I'll handle the caster."

"I will leave it to you then." With a crack of the reins, Iskander flew out of the clearing in a cloud of lightning. The Berserker charged blindly after him, leaving a large path in the trees behind him.

"Are you ready little girl?" the Caster taunted her once more, "I have plenty of demons for you to play with."

_"More like they want to play with me,"_ Ana thought to herself. She was unable to locate the caster and the only way to survive was to keep moving. She breathed for a minute while the creatures surrounded her once more.

She charged one, it must have tried to anticipate her using Harpe's chain as it jumped back suddenly when Ana swung at it. However she utilized the momentum of her swing to rotate into a frontflip, bringing Harpe through the creature as she landed. She then switched to holding it's chain again to swing it's extended reach behind her, killing more.

She was about to attack another when she saw it. One of the demons was spawned from the corpse of a defeated creature in a disturbing manner. While Ana was only dazed for a moment, it was enough for a tentacle to wrap itself around her waist. A moment later another grabbed her left arm followed by the right. Her ankles were then grabbed and she was then lifted into the air while Harpe fell to the ground..

She wiggled as hard as she could but the demons were too strong. She then recognized that they didn't grab her with the more serrated parts of their tentacles. A horde of the demons had formed in front of her and she began to wonder what they were going to do to her.

Fortunately a bright golden light erupted from the center of the horde. Ana was now free on the ground and she looked up to see a welcome sight as the golden light of Excalibur faded due to Saber hiding it with invisible air.

"Jeanne?!" the caster said in shock and rage.

"For the last time, Gilles de Rais, I am not Jeanne," Saber seemed slightly annoyed at being called someone else almost like this was a common occurrence.

"Thank you, Saber," Ana said standing up.. Artoria gave her a quick smile before turning her attention back to the surrounding creatures.

"I guess I'll have to force you to remember again!" Gilles said in a rage. The creatures charged them.

Artoria quickly cut through several as they came upon her. Ana then took the initiative to guard her back and flank. Grabbing Harpe from the ground where it fell, Ana spun through the air slicing up many of the horrors that had lunged at Artoria from behind. Unfortunately the demons kept spawning forcing the two into a wild dance around each other. After fighting like this for the space of several minutes the two stood back to back while dispatching any demon that came too close.

"Have you located him?" Saber asked.

"I need to concentrate but I'm positive I can find him."

"I can cover you." Saber said. Ana gave her a nod over her shoulder before kneeling on the ground on one knee. She closed her eyes once more to listen. The demons around her were distracting but this wasn't the first time she had difficulty. This reminded her of fighting a band of humans in the ruins of the shapeless Isle whom she wanted to toy with by picking them off one by one.

Underbrush trampled as Saber and her armor rushed around to keep Ana safe. Ana had to tune that out and began looking for a different sound. The weird creatures were odd, creating more disturbance which made things a lot more difficult. She was about to give up when she heard it ahead of her. The ruffle of cloth as it moved against grass. This was followed by the sound of a hand grabbing skin that confirmed it as him.

"Ahead of me." she said, opening her eyes. She didn't wait for Saber's response but charged the location she heard the Caster from. She dodged a tentacle and sliced up the creature behind it as she continued toward her mark. With a leap over several of the demons, she left the clearing. The dark forest didn't matter to her as she was used to not using her eyes. With precision she continued at her fast pace, rounding a tree and prepared to slice at the caster's face. As she swung, her weapon was hit by an arrow, knocking Harpe into the bark of the tree above his head.

Gilles, whoever he was, ran like a coward. As she pulled Harpe out of the tree. Ana began to look for the unknown Archer. The presence she felt was strangely familiar to her but she couldn't place who it was for some reason. She looked over to where the arrow came from.

The Archer approached slowly and Ana couldn't ignore how familiar the sound and presence of this servant was. Then the servant reached a small silver strand of moonlight and Ana now knew why this person was so familiar, which scared her more than the anxiety of her revealing her Identity. This meant Ana only managed to croak one word.

"Euryale?"


End file.
